CURSED
by eclipsearikado
Summary: an exchange student bears the power of giving life and manipulating souls, a power which dracula seeks in order to take over soma. mina is dead. arikado is a widow. very...very...strange...
1. The Rose

A/N: heh well let's see...I've been wanting to write a story about Genya (yes I call him that instead of Arikado lol) ever since I saw that pale face of his on the character melinge ad in the Nintendo Power magazine that my friend subscribes to. Well, I just instantly fell in love with him lol and I just had a feeling that he'd be Alucard in disguise...  
  
I must say, I'm not an extreme (or even a little) fan of a Genya/Mina couple...buuuuut for the purposes of this fic, I shall have to bear having them be together...heh not for long.  
  
The following is a revised form of a fic I wrote when I first found out about the Aria of Sorrow game, when I knew nothing about Genya other than his name. Heh ok I'll shut up and get on to the fic now...  
  
Oh on the last note, I've modified a few things because I felt like it...for example, the graveyard by the shrine...  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania *sigh*  
  
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Mina Arikado  
  
April 16, 2018-July 18, 2037  
  
Her soul is finally safe...  
  
The words have long been deeply branded into his mind, and they probably will remain so for the rest of his miserable life. Arikado, like the rest of his kind, will live for centuries, for forever...  
  
This wasn't so for Mina.  
  
The death of Arikado's beloved knifed his soul. Happiness was out of the question.  
  
Arikado stared at the gravestone as if seeing through it, searching for Mina on the other side. His hand swung forward and released a wilted rose. Just a few minutes ago, the flower carried a luminous beauty, like Mina. Now, the drooping petals hung oppressingly from the brittle stem, shriveling to a fragmented heap; weak.  
  
After Mina's death, everything Arikado touched seemed to wilt and die in one way or another. At first, roses would re-bloom as soon as they landed on Mina's grave. Now, they just shattered...like crystal; like glass.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe we're taking a field trip to a shrine place...what is WRONG with this town, anyway?!"  
  
"...We're exchange students in a country that's in a whole other hemisphere, Eclipse. WHAT A SURPRISE that they have a different culture..."  
  
"...OK, so the school system is a little weird...and I'm in need of anger management. So what," Eclipse shrunk into her cloak. "I hate this kind of rain,"  
  
"Get used to it. This place never has sunshine,"  
  
"Yeah, Keri, I know...just look at my skin. I'm Chinese and I look like an albino now...hey, where'd the teacher go? Are we supposed to just wander through this place?"  
  
"Yeah...and we're supposed to buy flowers to pay respect or something,"  
  
"To what? The dead?" Eclipse counted a few bills and handed them to the shrinekeeper. "So..."  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
"Well, everyone else is dropping flowers on the gravestones..."  
  
"Whatever," Keri followed as Eclipse stared at the ground and absentmindedly dropped flowers on random graves. Eclipse was clenched out of her daze as her gaze landed on a grave that only had a single, wilted rose...barrely disinguishable as a rose. She looked up and her eyes were met by the eyes of a man who stood in front of the grave.  
  
Eclipse was shocked by the contrast between the man's raven black hair and his almost white skin. She was reminded of herself. The hair and skin's colors greatly differed, yet melted into an ok look. Actually, the person standing in front of her looked better than just ok.  
  
"Uh-" Eclipse blinked and automatically held out a flower to him. "Maybe you should put this one with the rose. It's less...it's more...uh..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Arikado slowly reached for the flower. The girl had spoken to him; she had not been afraid to be near him. Then again, she had accidentally stumbled upon the grave and may have been just too polite to run away.  
  
The whole town knew of Mina's death and his curse. Didn't this stranger?  
  
His hand gripped the stem of the flower, but it did not instantly die. Arikado glanced curiously at the flower. Why wasn't it wilting?  
  
The girl let go of the flower, the tips of her fingers accidentally sweeping Arikado's hand.  
  
Even after the girl's hand had left the flower, it stayed alive; radiant as ever. ~how-~ Arikado's gaze flew back toward the girl's face, but she had already left, strolling with another student through teh cemetary. Arikado stared at the flower. Still alive. Still beautiful.  
  
"Mina, is this real? Did this flower actually not die at my touch?" he felt that if he held the flower for another second, it would die and end the miracle. Arikado dropped the flower next to the shriveled rose.  
  
The flower's beauty made the rose insignificant...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"That guy was creepy," said Keri, looking over her shoulder at the only grown-up in the cemetary.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, just look at him! There's some odd...ness..."  
  
"You mean his hair really contrasts his skin?" snapped Eclipse.  
  
"Well no. Something just feels funny..."  
  
"...I'm just not going to say anything,"  
  
"Well, actually, right when we got here, I saw him buy a rose, and as soon as he touched the rose, it shriveled up. Creepiest thing I've ever seen,"  
  
"That can't be. I just GAVE him a flower and saw him take it. The flower was fine,"  
  
"Well, still,"  
  
"You're paranoid," Eclipse tossed her last flower onto a gravestone. She looked over at the eccentric person. He was still standing motionless, staring regretfully at the gravestone. "I wonder who that is..."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Whose grave that is. It said something like Mina Arikado. Died just half a year ago. So sad,"  
  
"Maybe this Mina character was his sister,"  
  
"Maybe,"  
  
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I think that's a good place to stop my insanity...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MINA IS DEAD!!!!!!! *happy dance* always wanted that to happen...oh lesse later, Soma shall enter the tale...he ish 20 now i guess...ok review pweese thankees ja ne! 


	2. rain, graves, and the brooding arikado

Disclaimer: aria is a kewl word...and minuet of dawn sounds really pretty um yeah...i don't own 'em...so...yeah...meh  
  
and um liang is like...iunno people tend to pronounce it wrong...um it's actually pronounced like lee ahng except linked together...   
  
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"Well, class, your semester exams are coming up-"  
  
Eclipse heard the two evil words and flinched. That was all she needed to hear. The semester exams were the Japanese versions of midterms. What a wonderful day it was when the teacher stats one's day with a reason for migraines. She gingerly laid her head on her desk as the teacher's voice droned on.  
  
"Eclipse Liang,"  
  
~shit...~ Eclipse lifted her head, face set in a look that almost said 'what the hell do you think you're doing, disturbing my nap'  
  
"Were you allowed to sleep during class in the school you transferred from?"  
  
"My reputation goes to say that I was never caught, so what was the point of worrying about allowance?"  
  
"...I think...uh....she has a point,"  
  
Eclipse hadn't noticed the visitor standing in the doorway. ~since when was he there?~  
  
The teacher tossed the visitor a disapproving glare, then faced the students. "Everyone, this is Soma Cruz, one of my former transfer students from 2 years ago. He is here to give some advice about your exams,"  
  
~please don't tell me he's some geek who got a perfect score on the exams.~ Eclipse rolled her eyes and glanced out the window, tuning out for the rest of the morning.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Keri. Keri...KERI! WAKE UP!" Eclipse whacked Keri on the head.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"It's one thing to not pay attention, another thing to sleep, and yet another altogether category to not know when to wake up!"  
  
"Oh...it's lunchtime, right?"  
  
"Damn straight it is," Eclipse pulled Keri out of her chair and followed the other students out of the classroom, muttering 'uh...thanks' to Soma on her way out. ~yeah...thanks for something that I didn't listen to...heh~  
  
"I totally missed everything. What did he say?" asked Keri.  
  
"Something or other about the exams," Eclipse shrugged. "I didn't pay any attention either,"  
  
"Great. I'm screwed. You can afford to stare out the window all day because your a genius child. Always, were, is, and will be. I'm screwed,"  
  
"You can always get someone to tutor you, but not me. I can't explain a damn thing,"  
  
"Sure you can. You just always use technical terms so you make it more confusing for everyone,"  
  
"Heh thank you for the wonderful compliment,"  
  
"Looks like it will rain," Keri switched the topic to hopefully something more cheerful.  
  
"Like always? Marvelous," Eclipse stared up at the endless patchwork of clouds. "I need my sun...I need my sun..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The second school ended, it began to rain, and not small, pathetic drops. The heavy rain pouring onto the streets and rooftops sounded like gunshots. Thunder and lightning complemented the rain.  
  
"I don't want to walk home in this storm," Keri dug through her backpack for an umbrella.  
  
"But it will be so much fun!"  
  
"I thought you didn't like rain,"  
  
"I like storms," Eclipse shrugged off her backpack and cloak and ran outside, instantly becoming soaked. She spun and let the rain fall on her face, her eyelashes heavy with water. "It's like...an aria...or a minuet of rainfall..." she said to herself.  
  
"You're insane, you know that?" Keri appeared next to her, face half hidden by the umbrella. "You're going to get a cold,"  
  
"I doubt it,"  
  
"Come on, let's go," Keri paced herself in a brisk walk. Eclipse reluctantly followed.  
  
"Walk slower, Keri. I don't want to go home yet,"  
  
"UM...too late...we're halfway there already..."  
  
"Oh. We're at the cemetary..." ~the cemetary of the Hakuba Shrine...~  
  
"Eclipse, look, it's that person again!"  
  
"Which person?" Eclipse squinted to make the image clearer. He was so far away...yes, him, she remembered him too well. It was like she had never left that field trip, or like she was staring at a photo of that day. "Does he come here every day?"  
  
"I would not know,"  
  
"Just hold on a second. There is someone with him...I believe...Cruz?"  
  
"Why would Soma and the creepy person hang out together at a cemetary?"  
  
"Mina,"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"There is a chance that they are both related to Mina. Mina Arikado,"  
  
"Sure...well let's go home now...we have to...study?"  
  
"You? Willingly study? When hell freezes over, Keri," Eclipse laughed and continued walking.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Arikado,"  
  
"Soma," Arikado ddin't even look up from the gravestone as he greeted Soma. There was really no point in doing so.  
  
"Have you been feeling any better?" no answer. "I guess not," no reply. "I really miss her too..."  
  
"I didn't deserve her," Arikado's voice was low and angry. "And she didn't deserve this...death,"  
  
"You need to stop that. Brooding over what is not true will not help anything. She was happy to be with you...even though she knew about the curse. That's at least somewhat important, right? And...maybe it was her time to go..."  
  
"Don't you even DARE suggest that. It was NOT her time. She was too young,"  
  
"Sorry, but...Arikado, you believe in God. You should know that sometimes, He takes people away when they're young,"  
  
"He didn't take her. My curse took her. It was I..."  
  
~can't argue with him...won't get anywhere.~ even though he was technically Dracula, Soma would rather not see Arikado's rage explode.  
  
Sorrow never fades. They all knew, but why did Mina have to be the one to prove it.  
  
Arikado shouldn't be able to justify blaming himself. If anything, Soma thought that it was his fault, and not Arikado's. If Soma had not existed, Mina would never get herself into that vampire mess. She would never have met Arikado. The story ends there. She would have been alive.  
  
Arikado, as if psychic about Soma's turmoil, had once told him that if he had never existed, some other person would be Dracula's incarnation, and as fate would have it, the incarnation would meet Mina and everything would end up the same way except with Soma replaced. It made sense, but logic was never good medicine for guilt and an aching heart.  
  
"Arikado, I didn't find you today to talk about Mina. Actually, I've tried hard to avoid thinking about her-"  
  
"The flower lived,"  
  
"...What?"  
  
"The flower lived,"  
  
"Um is there some symbolism behind this that I am not understanding?"  
  
"It lived. She made it live,"  
  
Soma frowned and looked at the grave. Next to the brittle remains of a shriveled rose was a beautiful flower, very much alive.  
  
"...She made it live? Who, Arikado? Are flowers that you touch beginning again to be revived by Mina's grave?"  
  
"No. That girl made it live despite me. That mortal girl..."  
  
"Who? Do you know her name?"  
  
"She is in the senior class of the high school you attended,"  
  
"Oh, there are ONLY a few hundred of them!"  
  
"She has black hair and black eyes. She is a transfer student. She does not know about my curse...but she countered it,"  
  
Soma's eyes windened. "How...wow, what a coincidence. I've come here today to talk to you about that very same person. Her name is Eclipse Liang..."  
  
"Did you sense anything?"  
  
"Not really, but she had some odd vibe...I'm not really sure what I was sensing. She is just a mortal, after all..."  
  
"You don't know that,"  
  
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yeah...u have to review now...because random girl with claws commands you to...and no u don't know random girl with claws...she's the protagonist in another story i am conjuring up at the moment...lol 


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